In Memoriam: George Whitney Rowe

George Whitney Rowe

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with sorrow the
death of Corporation Member George W. Rowe on November 5, 2008.
He was an Associate and was elected a Member of the Corporation in
2007.

George Whitney Rowe was born November 25, 1940 in Cincinnati,
Ohio. He attended St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire,
and received a B.A. from Harvard in 1962. George, a
fifth-generation banker, was the son of the late William S. Rowe,
former chairman of the board of The Fifth Third Bank and of Fifth Third
Bancorp, its parent company.

Upon graduating from college, George joined J.P. Morgan & Co.,
where he worked for over 40 years, serving as a Managing Director in
New York, London and San Francisco. With the formation of J.P.
Morgan California in 1990, he moved to San Francisco and served as its
President. George retired in 1999, but served as a senior advisor
to the firm for several more years. George was a board member of
the College Access Foundation of California, Dominican University of
California, Episcopal Charities, Garden Conservancy, St. James
Community Learning Center, Prout’s Neck Country Club, and the United
States Seniors’ Golf Association. George had served as a Trustee
of the San Francisco Ballet, Commonwealth Club of San Francisco,
California Historical Society, Timken Museum of Art in San Diego,
Center for the Arts at Yerba Buena Garden, Boys Club of New York, St.
Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, and the Lincoln Center Fund; he was a former
President of the San Francisco Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts of
America.

George and his wife of 44 years, Kate Rice (Munson) Rowe, lived in San
Francisco and had summer homes in Prout’s Neck, Maine and Woods
Hole. George enjoyed golfing and sailing; he was a member of the
Cypress Point Club, Pacific Union Club, San Francisco Golf Club, and
Prout’s Neck Country Club. George is survived by his wife Kate;
three sisters, Nancy Conner, Jennifer Rose, and Martha “Whitney” Long;
two children, Katherine “Nina” Ward, and William “Will” Rowe; and four
grandchildren.

Originally published: November 13, 2008

WHOI is the world's leading non-profit oceanographic research organization. Our mission is to explore and understand the ocean and to educate scientists, students, decision-makers, and the public.